Armature-banding machine



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Dec. 'H8 i923.

B. W. .TODD

ARMATURE BANDING MACHINE- Filed Aug. 18 1921( 3 SheeS-Sheet l memgmm. www? B. w. TODD ARMATURE BANDING MACHINE Filed-AuL 18 1921 3 Shesshe?, 3

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fmaf., Elm/'V Patented Dec. 18, 1923.

unirse .A RMATURE-BANDING MACHINE.

Application fi1ed August 18, 1921.

To all whomy t mrtg/- manera.'

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN W. Toni), a citizen of the United States, residing at Sherman, in the county of Los Angeles and State ot California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Armature- Banding Machines, ot' which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to winding machines, and more particularly to a machine especially adapted for winding the wire bands upon the' armatures of electric motors and the like.

In winding bands of this character, it is necessary that the wire be'applied under a constant and even tension, in order to prevent unequal strains and consequent failure. It is also necessary to be able to-back up the armature, and unwind the wire for a considerable distance, without destroying the tension,rin. order to correct errors 0i direction, or for any other reason.

Therefore the objects of my invention are.V to provide a winding' machine in which the wire is kept under constant tension, and which may be reversed, toz unwind a considerable length of wire, without destroying` this tension. Further objects of the` invention are to provide means for feeding the wire, as it is used, from a reel, without allowing' said reel to run ahead and cause slack, and to provide safety devices for guiding the wire so that, in the event of brea rage under tension, the free end will not whip back and injure the operator.

Although my invention is especially adapted for banding armatures, it is to be distinctly understood that it is not limited tosuch use. On the contrary, it may be used with equal success for the winding of any wire or similar material upon a drum-like object, where constant tension is necessary or desirable. Moreover, although the ma-- chine embodying my invention is herein de scribed and illustrated in its preferred form, it is to be understood that changes, within the scope ot the claims hereto appended, may be made in the form and construction of the machine without departing` in any degree `from the-spirit oiitliev invention.

With this Yin view, a. preferred embodiment of my invention willnow be fully de'- scribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1.,.is-'a fronti 'elevation-.oit com Serial No. 493,488.

plete banding machine, the driving motor being omitted for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, showing the driving motor;

Fig. 3 is'an end elevation, viewed from the right-hand end oi' Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4t is a sectional detail, enlarged, ot the tip' of the wire guide;

Fig. 5 is an end view of the same, taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 4; and

F ig. 6 is a horizontal sectional detail, taken in the direction ot the arrows on the line 6 6 of Fig. 1, certain parts being omitted for the sake of clearness.

ln the drawings, the reference-numeral 1 designates a bed, similar in general torni and arrangement to the bed of an ordinary lathe. Said bed is provided with a fixed head-stock E2 and an adjustable tailstock 3, the latter being formed in any suitable and well known manner. Both head and tailstocks are provided with centers 4f between which the armature A, indicated only in dotted lines in Fig. 1, may be swung for rotation.

The head-stock 2 has a spindle 5, Fig. 1, which is driven through worm gearing G, preferably by an electric motor 7, Figs. 2 and 3. A 'friction clutch S and a brake 9 are interposed between the motor 7 and thc worm gearing 6, said brake comprising two adjacent Jfriction disks, one carried by the worm gear housing 6', and the other by the slidable clutch hub 8. Said clutch hub 8 is moved longitudinally upon its shai't, to operate the clutch and brake, by a bell-crank 10, Fig. 8, a vertical link 11, Figs. 1 and 3, and a treadle 12, the latter being pivotally supported at 13 and so arranged that pressure on said treadle engages the clutch and disengages the brake.A A spring lll, Fig. 3, normally holds the clutch out of engagement, and the brake members in frictional Contact.

A. tace plate 15, Figs. 1 and 2, of the usual well known -form, and from which the armature may be driven by a suitable dog, indicated in dotted lines inV Fig. 1, is rotatably mounted on the end of the spindle 5, and is driven by a jaw-clutch 16. Said aw-clutch is operatedl by a bell-crank 17, Fig 1, a vertical link 18, anda treadle 19, the latter being pivotally supported at20, Figs; 1 and 3, and so arranged that pressure on said treadle releases thef-jaw-clutch. Si,spring/21,-Fig.-il",

normally holds said jaw-clutch in engagement.

Beneath the bed l of the machine is a horizontal fluid-pressure cylinder 22. A piston 23, Fig. 1, is slidable within said cylinder, and operates a piston rod 24, which carries a head 25, Figs. l and 6, upon which are mounted a pair of parallel pulleys 26, side by side, partially enclosed by a suitable guard member 27. it the extreme left hand end of the bed is a fixed bracket 28, Figs. l and 2, upon which are mounted, side by side, two pulleys 29, in alignment with the pulleys 27. A third pulley 30 is also mounted upon said bracket 2S, slightly above the lower pair of pulleys 29.

The wire which is to be wound upon the armature is carried upon a reel 3l, l and 2, removably mounted in bearing brackets .32 at the extreme right-hand end of the bed l. Said wire, as shown at 33, is led from said reel 3l, over a guide pulley 34, Fig. l, thence over one of the pulleys 29 carried by the fixed bracket 26, thence back and over one of the pulleys 26 carried by the piston rod head 25, thence forwardly again over the other pulley 23 and back over the other' pulley 26, and finally forwardly and over the upper pulley 30. The piston-rod head 25 thus carries two bights of the wire 33, and the amount of slack which can be taken up by the movement of said rod is therefore equal to four times its own length.

From the rear of the bed l there extends a fixed semi-circular bracket 35, 2, which has a rearwardly projecting stud 36, Fig. 3, at its central portion. A vertical. arm 37 is mounted on said stud for swinging movement in a vertical plane parallel with the length of the bed, and ias a counter-weight 38 to keep it normally upright. To the upper end of said arm 37 is pivoted a forwardly extending tube 39, the latter being capable of swinging, upon said arm, in a vertical plane at right angles to the plane of movement of said arm. The wire 33, after leaving the last take-up pulley 30, passes over guide pulleys 40 and 4l carried by the bed and the bracket 35 respectively, as shown in Fig. 2, thence over a pulley 42, Fig. 3, mounted at the lower end of the swinging arm 37, thence up and over a pulley 43 at the upper end of said arm, and linally forwardly through the tube 39. Said tube follows the wire freely to any portion of the armature upon which it is being wound, the vertical movement of the forward end of said tube permitting it to be wound upon armatures ofany diameter capable of being swung in the machine, and the horizontal movement of the entire tube enabling it to travel to any position between the centers 4.

The forward end 'of the guide tube 39 is provided with a cap 44, Figs. 4 and 5, within which are a pair of complementary sliding jaws 45, adapted for limited sliding movement within said cap, and normally held in their retracted or rear position by a spring 46, Fig. 4, surrounding said jaws and within said cap, said spring acting between the forward end 47 of the cap and rear flanges 43 formed upon the jaws. The forward portions of the said jaws normally lit freely within a circular orificeV in the end 47 of the cap, and back of saidforward portions the jaws .are eateriorly relieved, as shown at 49. A passage 50 is formed between said jaws. The diameter of said passage at its forward portionds only very slightly larger than the diameterof the wire, but considerably larger at its rear portion, there beinga slightly inclined interior shoulder formed at 5l in said passage.

l/Vhen there comes a splice: or joint in the wire (not shown in Fig. 4), said splice, striking the interior shoulder 5l, moves the jaws 45 outwardly until their relieved portions 49 clear the end 47 of the cap 44, whereupon said jaws separate sufficiently to allow the splice to pass through. The spring 46 th en returns the j aws to their normal position. rlhe wire thus has a guide which fits it at all times suli'iciently closely to prevent chat- 2 tering, but which will allow splices or joints to pass through.Y The interior` passagerbetween the jaws 45 mustconform to the size and cross-sectional form of the wire being used, said jaws being easily replaced by unscrewing the cap 44 from the end of the tube 39.

The reel 3l is provided at one side with a brake drum 52, Figs. l, 2 and 3, about which is positioned a brake band 53. One end of said band is anchored to a lined bracket 54, Fig. l, and the other end is movable upon a fixed rod extending from said bracket. A nut 56 is provided upon said rod for adjusting the band 53, and cushioning springs 57 are positioned on each side of the free end of said band.

An arm 5S .is connected with said free end of the band 53, and is connected through a cushioning spring 53 and a pushrod 59, with a. lever 60, the latter being pivoted at 6l and having its lower end connected with a. longitudinal horizontal rod 62, which eX- tends the entire length of the machine beneath the bed l, and is parallel with the piston rod 24. A. guide 63, Figs. l and 6, supports the forward end of the rod 62, and a coller 64, Fig. 6, is lined upon said rod. Said collar is positioned to be engaged through a cushioning spring 64 by an arm 65 extending laterally from the piston rod head 25, and freely slidable upon said rod 62, so that, when the piston rod 24appreaches the left-hand, or outerend ofits travel, as shown in Fig. 6, it moves the rod loo 62 to the left, thereby releasing the brake band 53. The springs 57 returns said band to its normal tension as soon as the piston rod 24 moves in again suiiiciently to cause its arm 65 to free the collar 64.

In the operation of the machine, fluid, preferably air, under pressure, is admitted to the cylinder' 22 through a connection 66, Fig. 1, at its left-'hand end, thereby forcing the piston 23 and its rod 24 in to the righthand limit of its travel. The brake-band 53 is then adjusted, by means of the nut 56, so tightly that the desired normal tension on the wire 33 will not cause the reel 31 to revolve. finding is then commenced, and, as it proceeds, the piston 23 is drawn out, against the air pressure in the cylinder 22, until it approaches the outer or left hand end of its stroke, when the release. rod 62 is moved by the contact of the arm 65 with the collar 64, thereby releasing the brake band 53 and allowing the reel 31 to revolve. When enough wirehas been unwound from said reel to allow the piston rod 24 to return suiiiciently to free the release rod 62, the brake band 53 again holds said reel stationary and the piston rod 24 begins to be drawn out again.

Thus a condition of virtual balance is maintained, the piston rod 24 moving backV and forth only a slight amount, near the outer limit of its possible travel, and the rake band 53 alternately releasing and holding the reel 31. The tension on the wire is therefore constant at all times, being dependent solely upon the pressure of the air supplied to the. cylinder 22. The reel 31, being controlled by its brake band 53, pays out the wire only as it is used, and is never allowed to run ahead and cause slack in said wire.

If it is necessary to back up the armature, on account of over-lapping or unequal spacing of the wire, or for any other reason, the reel is held stationary by its brake band 53, and the air pressure in the cylinder 62 causes the piston rod 24 to take up the slack as the wire is unwound from the armature, without lessening its tension. In actual practice, for example, in a machine having an air cylinder four feet long, sixteen feet of wire could be backed off the armature without lessening the normal tension. Such backing and unwinding is preferably done by releasing the j aw-clutch 16, by pressure on the treadle 19, thus freeing the armature A from its driving mechanism, and allowing it to be turned backwardly, by hand, the necessary amount.

The machine is at all times under the inetant control of the operator, who stands behind the bed 1, in a position convenient to the treadles 12 and 19. The driving motor 7 preferably runs continuously, the machine being started and lstopped by means of the friction clutch S and the brake 9, operated by the treadle 12. Release of said treadle instantly stops the machine, by disengaging said clutch and applying said brake.

In this position also the operator is well out of the way of the wire, and therefore not liable to injury in case of breakage, the guide tube 39 protecting him in the event of breakage near the armature.

I claim 1. A banding machine comprising means for rotating the object to be banded; a cylinder; a piston operable therein by fluid under pressure; a rod connected with and moved by saidv piston; a pair of pulleys carried by said rod; a second pair of pulleys mounted upon a fixed axis and aligned with the first pair, said pulleys being adapted to receive a double bight of the banding material; and means controlled by the movement of said piston for feeding the banding material to said pulleys.

2. A banding machine comprising means for rotating the object to be banded; means for feeding the banding material thereto under tension; and guide means for said banding material comprising an upright member adapted to swing in a direction parallel with the aXis of said object, and a tubular member associated with said upright member and adapted for swinging movement in a direction perpendicular to the axis of said object.

3. A banding machine comprising means for rotating the object to be banded; means for feeding the banding material thereto under tension; and means for guiding said banding material comprising a tubular member adapted for both vertical and hori- Zontal movement, and a pair of complementary aws: mounted in the end of said tubular member said jaws having a channel formed between them through which the banding material may pass in close fitting relation, and said jaws being capable of sep aration to permit the passage of enlargements in said banding material.

4. A banding machine comprising means for rotating the object to be banded; means for feeding the banding material thereto under tension; and means for guiding said banding material comprising a tubular member adapted for both vertical and horizontal movement, a pair of separable and longitudinally slidable jaws mounted in the end of said tubular member, said jaws having a channel formed between them through which the banding material may pass in close fitting relation, and said jaws being capable of separation to permit the passage of enlargements in said `banding material, only when moved longitudinally out of their normal position, and a spring for retaining said jaws in said normal position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this speciication.

.BENJAMIN W. TODD.

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